FAQs


  1. What happens to the shoes we collect?
  2. Why are so many children in Malawi orphans?
  3. I don’t know what HIV and AIDS are
  4. What will the recycled shoes pay for?
  5. Can my school or youth group set up a collection point?
  6. Where do I take my shoes?
  7. How are we helping children in Malawi?
  8. Who invented shoes?
  9. What else can I do for Shoe Biz?
  10. Five fun facts about shoes

1. What happens to the shoes we collect?

Did you know that around 2 million pairs of shoes are thrown into dustbins every week in Britain?

These shoes are not recycled – nearly all of them are just buried in the ground in enormous pits of rubbish.

Shoes collected for Shoe Biz will be recycled and sold in countries where many people buy their shoes second-hand.

What this means is that as well as stopping shoes from ending up in rubbish pits in the UK, we are able to get money for the recycled shoes so that we can buy food, seeds and books for Children’s Corners in Malawi.



2. Why are so many children in Malawi orphans?

AIDS is one of the most serious illnesses in the world today. It is caused by a virus
called HIV.

In Malawi, someone dies because of AIDS every nine minutes. At the moment around 850,000 grown-ups there have HIV – that is one in every seven grown-ups.

Malawi is a very poor country, and there aren’t enough doctors, nurses and hospitals. Most people in Malawi who have HIV do not have the money to buy the medicines they need to keep them healthy.

This is why 600,000 children in Malawi have been orphaned by AIDS.

In the UK, it’s incredibly unlikely that a child would be born with HIV. It’s also extremely rare for a child’s parents to die because of AIDS.

If you’re upset or worried by anything you’ve seen on Blue Peter or this website, please talk to someone about it. If you want to talk to one of your parents or your carer, let them know they can find more information about HIV and AIDS here on the site. If you want to talk to someone else, ChildLine offer really good help and they’re on 0800 1111.



3. I don’t know what HIV and AIDS are

AIDS is a very serious illness. It’s caused by a virus called HIV.

People who have HIV can stay healthy and live a normal life. But without the right medical help, HIV can slowly destroy the body’s way of healing itself - “the immune system”.

When someone is so weak that their body can’t heal itself any more, that’s when doctors say a person has developed AIDS. When this happens, a person can easily catch illnesses like pneumonia. Without the right medical care, they are likely to get very ill and die.

In Malawi, around 600,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS. That’s why Children’s Corners are so important.

If you’re upset or worried by anything you’ve seen on Blue Peter or this website, please talk to someone about it. If you want to talk to one of your parents or your carer, let them know they can find more information about HIV and AIDS here on the site. If you want to talk to someone else, ChildLine offer really good help and they’re on 0800 1111.



4. What will the recycled shoes pay for?

6 pairs = memory books for 8 children

Losing your mum or your dad is one of the most difficult things that happens to anyone in life. These memory books will help 8 children to remember their mum and dad and talk about how they are feeling. This helps them to feel better.

65 pairs = puppet set for playtime

With no TV to watch, puppet shows are a great way to enjoy stories. These brightly coloured hand puppets are made for children to use themselves. Children can make up their own stories with animal puppets such as dogs, cats, horses and cows.

69 pairs = first aid kit

Grazed knees and cut fingers need some help to get better. This first aid kit will help health visitors to look after children when they’ve hurt themselves.

 

109 pairs = baby weighing scales

If babies aren’t getting enough good food to eat, they can get ill and could even end up with a disability. By weighing babies regularly, Community Care Workers can make sure they’re healthy. If the baby needs extra food or medicine, the Community Care Worker can make sure they get it.

280 pairs = seeds to grow food

In the Children’s Corner garden, vegetables are grown for food. Children can learn about how to grow vegetables, so they can do the same back home. This pack of seeds includes maize, peanuts, fertiliser, beans, cassava, potatoes, and assorted vegetable seeds.

330 pairs = 1 x bicycle for a Community Care Worker

If children are living on their own, or looking after a sick mum or dad, they need some extra help and care. A bicycle can allow Community Care Workers to visit children in their homes to check they’re getting everything they need.

1,156 pairs = 1 x water pump

Drinking dirty water can make children very ill or even kill them. A water pump at the Children’s Corner can provide clean water for hundreds of children, helping them to grow up safe and healthy.

22,482 pairs = 1 x Children’s Corner centre

A new Children’s Corner could transform the lives of 250 children, many of them orphaned by AIDS. They’ll find food, water, education, friends and, best of all, the care and support they would otherwise miss out on.

£500,000 = 139 Children’s Corners

If we reach our Blue Peter Shoe Biz Appeal target of £500,000, we’ll be able to set up a massive 139 Children’s Corners, train and equip 556 Community Care Workers, and give 34,750 children in Malawi the chance of a brighter future.



5. Can my school or youth group set up a collection point?

Any school, youth club or youth organisation, such as the Guides or Cubs, is welcome to set up a Shoe Biz collection point, but it has to be set up and run by an adult.

Please ask a teacher, your mum or dad or your youth leader to visit this page on the Shoe Biz website to find out more.



6. Where do I take my shoes?

When you have tied your shoes together in pairs with either string or an elastic band, you can drop them off at any Blue Peter Shoe Biz Appeal collection point.

Shoe Biz collection points can be found in most Clarks shoe shops and Mothercare Worlds or in BBC local radio stations. In fact some 500 Clarks Shoe Shops are taking part!

Look out for the Blue Peter Shoe Biz Appeal logo for where to take your shoes. Click here to find your nearest collection point.

Children can also ask their school, Guides group or youth club leader to visit this website to find out how to set up their own Shoe Biz collection point. When you set up a collection point, you need to collect a hundred pairs of shoes for Shoe Biz.



7. How are we helping children in Malawi?

In Malawi, nearly 600,000 children have lost their mum or dad, or both, because of AIDS. The money raised by the Shoe Biz Appeal will help more and more of these orphans to find the care, friendship and fun they need.

The shoes you recycle with the Shoe Biz Appeal will help set up Children’s Corners all over Malawi. Your money will buy seeds for the kitchen garden, pots and pans for the kitchen, toys for playtime, and much, much more. It will train Community Care Workers, so children get the help and support they desperately need.

Children’s Corners are a lifeline for children because they stop them from missing out on their childhoods. If we reach our Blue Peter Shoe Biz Appeal target of £500,000, we’ll be able to set up a massive 139 Children’s Corners, train and equip 556 Community Care Workers, and give 34,750 children in Malawi the chance of a brighter future.



8. Who invented shoes?

Shoes have been around for nearly as long as people. Cave men used to wrap animal skins or furs around their feet. The oldest shoes in the world were found on an “Ice Man” who died 5,300 years ago. They were made of skins stuffed with straw and moss.

Fashions change, but some shoes have lasted the test of time. Ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans wore sandals – and we’re still wearing them today.

Greeks and Romans also wore an early kind of boot, and even platform shoes have been around for centuries. Back in the 16th century, women wore huge platformed shoes called chopines. They were so high that they couldn’t walk properly without help from their maids.



9. What else can I do for Shoe Biz?

There are three main ways you can get involved in the Shoe Biz Appeal

  1. First, you can help by collecting lots and lots of shoes.
  2. Second, you can have fun AND raise money by wearing your wellies to school on World AIDS Day (1 December 2006).
  3. Third, organise your own shoe-related fundraiser. Whether it’s a Flip-Flop Disco or a Boot Sale, the more help the better.


10. Five fun facts about shoes

The biggest shoes

A shoemaker called Marikina Colosan Footwear needed over 244 metres of leather (from about 30 cows!), 50 buckets of glue and 200,000 stitches to make the world’s largest pair of shoes. At least 30 people can fit inside!

Most expensive shoes

Shoes don’t have to be big to cost big bucks. The world’s most expensive shoes made an appearance at the Oscars in 2004. The “Cinderella Slippers” worn by Oscar-nominated singer Alison Krauss were covered in 565 diamonds and cost a massive $2 million.

Even second-hand shoes can come with a big price tag. The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz raised a whopping $666,000 at auction.

Big boot race

The biggest ever Wellington boot race had 981 welly-wearing runners. The race was held at Waimea College, Nelson, New Zealand on 3 September, 2003. Wellies got their name from the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Space shoes

In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. He said it was “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” But you won’t find his moon boots in a museum. The boots were left in space in case they were contaminated.

Shoe shopping

The average woman in the UK spends £31,680 on shoes in her lifetime, according to a survey – but most of them don’t fit! Apparently, 85 per cent of women buy shoes in the wrong size.



Photo Credits: UNICEF UK/2006/Steve Gorton; UNICEF/HQ06-0939/Giacomo Pirozzi; Abbie Trayler-Smith; UNICEF UK/2002/Sarah Epstein; UNICEF UK/2006/F. d’Elbee; UNICEF/ HQ02-0519/Ami Vitale; UNICEF/ HQ05-0714/Christine Nesbitt; UNICEF/ HQ02-0505/Ami Vitale; UNICEF UK/2006/Nicky Hornzee; UNICEF UK/2006/Kathryn Irwin; UNICEF UK/2006/Clare Richards; UNICEF UK/2005/Sarah Epstein; UNICEF UK/2006/Steve Gorton.